Notes / Commercial Description:
Inspired by the classic Dubbels of Belgium, our Brother David’s Double has a dark brown body and aromas of warm cocoa, banana, and cloves. Specialty malts impart a toasted, nutty character and flavors of chocolate-covered cherries and candied fruits, while the subdued hop profile and Abbey yeast create spicy, herbal notes to compliment the warm, slightly sweet finish. Winner of a Gold Medal in the 2011 Great American Beer Festival™, Brother David’s Double is a truly complex and potent ale meant to be savored or shared with friends.

More User Reviews:

Appearance  This one poured a dark brown in color with a modest, lightly-tanned head that went down rather quickly.

Smell  The malts here are almost like a heavy bock. Theres some light yeast present in the nose as well. I can pick up some sort of hopping and a light table sugar.

Taste  The malts lead the way at the taste. They are very singular in flavor with some light, sweetened molasses and a good amount of maple syrup. The yeast from the nose barely shows up at the tongue.

Mouthfeel  This one is thin, Id say barely medium-bodied, with a dull sense of carbonation and a heavy-handed sweetness at the finish.

Drinkability  This one wasnt that bad, but it certainly needs a lot of work. Its a complicated style though so kudos to AV for taking a decent stab at it.

Brother David's Double comes encased in a thick coat of black wax/plastic covering the top of the bomber. After breaking out the wine servicer to get to the cap, it pours into my tulip glass a deep dark brown with garnet hues and a half inch of khaki foam atop the brew. Enticing! Aromas of sugary roasted malts hinting at chocolate and caramel. Molasses and plums with almost a sour dark fruity twang. Spicy yeast phenols add an earthy aspect with some bready tones.

First sip brings rich roasted maltiness with hints of cocoa, caramel and an array of dark fruit. This is followed by a mix of candi sugar, cinammon, anise, molasses and nutty flavors. Spicy yeast is apparent with each subsequent sip and adds an nice element to the brew. Finishes with a fresh baked bread aspect and subtle lingering smoky nuttiness. Overall it's a tasty brew.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a nice creaminess and stable carbonation. Goes down smooth with no real note of the 9% alcohol content. Overall, I thought this was a tasty brew that I wouldn't mind having again. A nice job on an American brewed dubbel. Thanks to goodbyeohio for the opportunity here.

22 oz wax covered bottle pours a murky cola brown body with a nice tan head that quickly disappears without lacing. Aroma of dark fruits(gigs and prunes) and some roasty notes of chocolate. Medium bodied with low carbonation. Taste is figs, dates, and prunes. Some lactic sourness seems out of place. Slightly vinous but not fusel. Some chocolate notes seem out of place. Not really a fan of this one.

Bomber bottle, with freshness dating, Great rubbery seal poured over the cap and dripping down the top of the bottle. Pours dark with amber hues. Minimal head and no lacing left behind. Rum, raisin and alcohol nose and up front on the palate. Also dark bread note picked up.. Big, bold and tasty brew. Complex and flavorful. This is a worthwhile American made double, not easy to find this one in my neck of the woods

Disclaimer: For some reason I'm listening to Eminem while reviewing this beer. I will try my best to harness my angst.

So...umm...well there's a nice little head on this beer. Black and red seem to be fighting for control of the beer's color. Smells like alcohol and caramel and tastes pretty much the same. Alcohol is a bit overpowering of the overall drinking experience, it doesn't give the sweetness a chance...well to be sweet.

I would definitely put one of there beers away for a year and see what happens, I think it would make a world of difference.

Dark brown pour with no head. Aroma of prunes, yeast, and raisins. The taste is really strong and the alcohol is not masked at all. Prunes and malt dominate the beer. The heavy mouthfeel makes it even less drinkable. The spice was nice, but everything else is a bit overwhelming. And lose the fake wax, it makes the bottle really hard to open.

Kind of a mahogany pour, almost no white head to speak of. Aroma was brown sugar and alcohol, maybe some plums and raisins behind the brown sugar.

Taste, whoa, bitter and lots of alcohol with tons of yeast esters and phenols. Arrgh, sorry this isn't my thing. A beer has to be more enjoyable than it is challenging, and this beer falls squarely into the latter category. Decent amount of caramel gets pretty much lost in the more dominant flavors (off?). Toffee and beyond its prime dark fruit continue.

This beer needs to be dried out, tamed down in some areas, ramped up in others. It started out ok, but devolved into a mess frankly. As the beer went on and on, I wondered if I was just noticing the alcohol more, or if I wasn't paying close enough attention to notice the approach of a fusel alcohol remnant aroma wise.

I dunno, love the American style Anderson Valley, so maybe I'm not the best source for a review of this beer, but I'll be avoiding this one for the near future.

Picked this up along with the a four pack and a 750 of Thelonius Monk's ale for only 15 bucks can't beat that, once again people go buy beer at the Six Pack Store in Moon if your in the Pittsburgh area. Not the most in depth selection but deals are everywhere. Bottle is rubber sealed with black wax looking polymer and it pours a deep caramel ruby tone with a lucious tan head leaves fine streaks of lacing. Aroma contains hints of coffee and anise notes with an overall vinous appeal, touch of powdered cocoa and some caramel toffee malt tones as well. Taste has a great mix of tart apple raisin going on with soft chocolate and toffee sweetness herbal hop bitterness is mild and blended well bready tone not the best overall American brewed dubbel I've had but it does the trick tasty 22oz portion. Mouthfeel is creamy carbonation is smooth but by no means effervescent smooth going down even coats the palate definitely classified as medium bodied. Drinkability is solid not something I would go for over a true Belgian but definitely something that I enjoyed.

Pours a hazy dark amber color with a half-finger tan head. The head recedes into a wispy layer on top leaving light lacing.

Smells of sweet medium malts with thin dark fruits - raisins with hints of green apples. Also present are hints of brown sugar and allspice.

Tastes very similar to how it smells. Moderately sweet medium malt flavors kick things off and are joined quickly by hints of breadiness. Midway through the sip large amounts of fruit flavors - green apples, raisins, and hints of pear - work their way into things. The flavor profile dries out near the end of the sip with the addition of leafy hops, carrying through to a mildly sweet ending.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a nice thickness with active carbonation.

Drinkability is OK. I didn't have a problem finishing my glass however I'm not sure about another.

Overall I wasn't a huge fan of this beer - the flavor profile seemed almost artificial as though the yeast didn't add enough character initially. Not a beer worth seeking out.

S: from the smell, you would never be able to guess this was a belgian dubbel. Alcohol is the prominent note.

T: Boozy and sweet. Lacks complexity

M: Moderate carbonation with a medium body

O: I'd opt for a real belgian. For what I paid for the 22oz, I could have had a real Belgian dubbel. I like AVB, but this is the worst beer Ive had from them. I'll probably steer clear of their "belgianesque" offerings from now on.

This poured to a good dark brown with a tiny head that disappeared quickly. There's no lace at all.

Sugars are definitely present in the smell. The taste is a little plain but solid. It's a relatively heavy flavor. The mouthfeel is definitely too sharp for my tastes, but the beer hides it's alcoholic content well and stays pretty drinkable.

This beer pours a clear, dark bronzed amber hue, with two fingers of tightly foamy, bubbly beige head, which leaves a solid painted wall of barely broken lace around the glass as it slowly ebbs away.

It smells of bready caramel malt, cinnamon and cloves, and herbal leafy hops. The taste is more lightly toasted biscuity caramel malt, a sugary toffee essence, some banana and plum esters, much attenuated Christmas spices, a slightly acrid yeastiness, and earthy, leafy hops. Very little in the way of booze warming lies evident this stage.

The bubbles are average, and generally supportive, the body a stolid medium weight, and mostly smooth, as a slowly rising heat provides a slightly unwelcome distraction. It finishes on the sweet side, but moderated well enough, the muted spice, neutered yeast, and stout earthy hops aiding and abetting.

A decent enough dubbel - the fruit and fervent malt, in accordance with some real deal Belgian yeast, render a pleasant warming tipple, especially as the 18-proof booze remains very well obfuscated (in the unusually positive sense of the word). Another bahl hornin' offering from this NoCal institution.